Method of treating canned goods



June 30, 1925, 1543,964

H. P. WELLMA N METHOD OF TREATING CANNED GOODS Filed Nov. 24, 1924 PAEl/EA TE/?.

' INVENTOR cfld/zuey fiezzmlem- 600%., ram/T ATTORNEYS Patented dime 3%, I925.

UNITED s'rATes rarest HARVEY P. WELLMAN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR T ANDERSON- BARNGROVER MFG. CO., OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALI- ronnra.

METHOD OF TREATING CANNED GOODS.

. Application filed November 24:, 1954. Serial No. 751,831.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY P. WELLMAN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at K the city and county of San Francisco and the nature of the goods.

In this art, as now highly developed, the common practice is to pass a continuous procession of filled containers through a treating region in apath of such nature, and for a time, adapted for the desired purpose of the treatment; and to this end elaborate machines, necessarily large and costly, and capable of accurately and without confusion conductin vthe container procession, have been provided and are universally used.

As an example of such machines, which example will indicate both their nature and the most common form of treatment, cookers, as they are known in the art, may be mentioned. Due to the fact that a very large proportion of the containers used in canning are cylindrical in cross section and are, therefore, adapted for rolling" on their axes, the cookers are fashioned to provide for such rolling action of the containers as the procession advances through the treating region, thus insuring a uniform and equable treatment of their contents.

On account of the many necessary factors which must be combined to render a cooker wholly and universally efficient, it is obvious that the machine must either provide for all these factors, or individual cookers must be supplied to meet as many conditions as possible. Neither of these conditions is practicable, the latter especially on account of cost. But if it be possible to extend the capability of the common type or types of cookers, without change, to additional uses, it is obvious that a decided advance in the art is made.

This, then, is my object, and to this end my invention consists in the novel method of treating canned fully describe.

In the following disclosure I shall use such examples as are now more prominently in mind, but my method extends to and embraces other illustrations which will readily occur to those skilled in the canning art.

Canned evaporated milk in general practice is put up in No. 1, tall cans and in baby cans, about 90% of the output going into No. 1 tall, and the remainder into baby cans. The cooker or sterilizing line of apparatus used is only adapted for the No. l tall'cans and to install a separate cooker or line for baby cans is not-in most plants justified, as it would mean a large outlay. Besides, there is difliculty in handlingthebaby can, as its diameter is goods which I shall now practically equal to its length, making it difiicult to handle even in a machine especially designed for it, because of the tendency of. a can of that shape to turn around or get askew 'in the can path and cause trouble.

Other illustrations may be given. Ihere are certain food products which could with advantage be treated by the continuous process, which owing to their nature or due to long established custom, are packed in Y angular or irregular shaped containers which render it diflicult, or practically impossible, to run them through a continuous line, and especially so in such a line in which an individual rolling action of the containers is contemplated. For example, corned beef is canned in a rectangular shaped container larger at one end than at the other, to facilitate the movement of its contents; and asparagus is ordinarily put up in rectangular shaped containers in order to hold it firm and prevent injury to the tender tips of the product. Such product-s could be advantageously handled in the common types of continuous cookers were it not for the angular shape of. the containers.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a marked diiference in size and number of the containers, as in the case of evaporated milk,

is the factor which makes it economically adapted for them. But when the small'pro-- I on account-of their size or shape or for other reasons be passed throughqsaid path, are

' placed withm the temporary incasements,

preferably one container in each incasernent; and. the IIICRSBIIIGIIt 'SO supplied w1th sa1d containers are run.throug said path, and

' when discharged are relieved of their treated containers and used a ain. for'like' urpose.

This will be quitec earby speci 0 reference to the illustrations hereinbefore given. For exampletaking first the applic'ation of the method in the art of processing milk. As before stated the ordinary No. l tall cans, being in'much the larger' number are run through the treating line in the usual manner, because the path of said line is portion of baby cans are to be treated, the temporary incasements contemplated by my met od are brou ht into use. Each incasement is supplie with a baby can, and a continuous procession of incasements so suplied are passed 'through'the path of ,the

. lneyand-as said incas'ements are adapted in tall v cans have the operation.

size and shape for said path, they pass through with the same facility as the No. 1

assed. When discharged from the line, the baby cans are removed from the incasementsa-nd the latter are -returned to :the head of-the line for repeating Thus the same apparatus can be used without change,- saving both time and expense. The incasements are not only of a size to be thus used, but in their best form are curvilinear or cylindrical, commonly the latter, adapting them for rolling on their axes, a feature of well known advantage. In the case of the angular or irregular shaped containers of corned beef and asparagus, the same temporary incasements are used, and in this instance both the desirable results of fitting the treating path. and of individual rolling therein are secured: I a

In order to more fully understand my improvement, I refer to the accompanying drawings.

In these drawings v Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one-of the temporary incasements, showing in dotted lines, a baby milk can therein.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a temporary lncasement showing therein an an-v gular asparagus can.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation indicating.-

diagrammatically a treating line usually employed in the processing of milk, a portion of the preheater' effect being broken away. in order to show one form or type of can-path usually employed; which path is I the same in all the effects.

I In Figs. 1 and 2,the numeral 1 indicates a cylindrical open ended shell which serves as the temporary incasement for the cylindrical baby milk can 2, indicated in Fig. 1, and for the angular asparagus can 3 indicatedin Fig. 2.

In Fig. 3, 4 is the preheater'efi'ect; 5 is a sterilizer effect and 6 is a cooler effect.

. In each of these' throu h which a continuous procession of thefified containers ass. One form of this can path is indicated in the broken portion effects is a can path of the preheater effect 4, and comprises a rotatable reel 7 of horizontally extending parallel spaced peri heral rails 8, coacting with an encircling elically directed fixed rail 9. The cansare carried by and between the reel' rails and are advanced with rollin action by contact with the helically directed rail. This form of can path isnow in common use and needs no further description. The same form of path is in the other effects 5-and 6. I

10 indicates the can feed to .eife ct 5. His the cancommunication between the preheater and the sterilizer 5. 12 is the communication between the sterilizer and the cooler 6. 13 is the discharge. from the cooler.

14 indicates a runway to return thetemporary incasements from the of. the line to the feed end.

In usin this apparatus in the processin of milk t line is normally ada ted are 'runthrough as is common. But w en the time comes for runnin the baby cans through, each baby can 2 1s laced inan incasement 1, as in Fig.1. he incaser'nentbein of a size and .shape substantially like. the o. '1 tall cans is equally adapted for running through the 7 me.

and are continuously rolled in, procession through all the" eifect of the line. When d1scharged, the baby cans are removed from. the incasements and the latter are the p'reheater e. No. 1 tall cans, for which the e 'incasements thus sup liedwiththe baby. cans are supplied" to t e feed 5' discharge end A,

passed back in the runway 14 to the feed 5 for, reuse. 7

It will be seen that the same method may be applied to the treating of goods in containers which by reason of theirshape are not adaptedfor. the ordinary treating apparatus. Thus, as indicated in Fig. 2, *an

angular asparagus can will be placed in a.

4 temporary incasement of a form adapted rolling action. I claim 1. In the treatment of canned goods involving their continuous passage through a treating path, the method of treating goods in containers unadapted'for passage in said path which consists in initially placing said containers in temporary incasements ada ted for passage in said path; passing said incasements with their inclosed containers throughsaid path; and removing the containers from the incasements after passing through said path.

2. In the treatment of canned goods involving their continuous passage with rolling action through a treating path, the

method of treating goods in containers unadapted for passage in said path, which consists in initially placing sald containers in temporary incasements ada ted for passage with rolling action in sai path; passing said incasements with their inclosed containers through said path; and removing the containers from the incasements after pass ing through said'path.

3. In the treatment of canned goods involving their passage with rolling action through a treating path, the method of treating goods in containers unadapted by reason of shape for passage with rolling action through said path, which consists in initially placing said containers in temporary curvilinear incasements adapted for passage tainers through said the containers from t e lncasements after in said path with rolling action, passing said incasements with their inclosed conath; and removing passing through said path.

4. In the treatment of canned goods involving a continuous procession of individual containers through a treating path, the method of treating goods in contamers unadapted for such procession in said path which consists in initially placing said unadapted containers in temporary incasements adapted for such procession in said path; passing said ada ted incasements in continuous procession 0 individuals through said path; and removing the containers from the incasements after passing through said path.

5. In the treatment of canned goods involving a continuous procession of individual and individually rolling containers, through a treating path, the method of treating goods in containers unadapted for such rolhn processionin said path which consists in lnitiallyplacing said unada ted containers in temporary incasements a apted for such rolling procession in said path; passing said adapted incasements in continuous procession of rolling individuals through said path; and removing the con- 05 tainers from the incasements after passing through said path.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HARVEY P. WELLN. 

